so the goodbyes have begun, sadly. leaving nicaragua is probably the hardest thing i've ever done. on sunday i went to casa bernabe orphanage, and spent the day and night with the kids there. it's nice staying in the orphanage when there's not a big group of gringoes around. i got to spend some time individually with some of my closer friends there, and although it was hard, i enjoyed being there with them. on monday i spent the morning with arturo, helping him in the panaderia (bakery). he bought my motorcycle on friday, and also has another, bigger bike that he's borrowing to use to take his bread around managua to sell. he let me drive it a bit and it was fun to be on a bike with some power to it. we drove around and sold all of the bread that we'd made in just a couple hours. he dropped me off in uca university, and i spent some time at home. in the afternoon i went back to vera cruz, where the orphanage is, but i spent the time in the town with the kids there. selena and susana are two beautiful little girls who always welcome me into their home, and they let me ride their horse. selena, the older sister, filmed my ride... she caught me fall off the horse which was not at all embarrassing. the kids in vera cruz are some of my favorites, and it was again hard parting with them. hopefully i'll get another chance to get out there before i go.
on tuesday i went over to el canyon, where another orphanage, puente de amistad (bridge of friendship) is located. there are fewer kids in this orphanage, and i haven't been able to spend much time with them, but they really bond easily, and i found myself really attached. i spent the night there tuesday and we played some games and took some pictures. unfortunately i forgot my battery charger and the camera ran out too quickly to get the pictures i'd wanted. nonetheless, it was a great time being there with them. all the little girls there want me to give them copies of the pictures i have of myself and of them, so i'm going to try to get out there too one more time before i leave, but it's going to be tough.
i have been saving la chureca for last as i think it's going to be the hardest place to leave behind. brad corrigan is coming in tomorrow, and hopefully i'll be able to spend time with him in the dump. i'm looking forward to it, but at the same time i know it's going to be a very emotional time.
there are many reasons as to why i don't want to leave, but one big one (apart from all of the friendships i'll be leaving or putting on hold) is that i'm really picking up spanish at a fast pace right now. i'm beginning to learn to speak with a fluency that allows me to joke around and really have fun with my peers. last night i was really enjoying fitting in with the guys who i play soccer with every tuesday and thursday. they're all in colleges here, and they are always messing with each other, and it was fun to get in on it with them. my buddy carlos was with me last night, and kept saying how he didn't know why i was born in the states because i fit in so well here. i absolutely love the language here and will miss it a lot. my fear is that i'll forget it, so i'm going to do everything i can at home to keep myself in the language, through work, church, soccer, and classes. hopefully i stay on top of it.
in spite of being sad to leave, i'm really getting excited to be home with my friends and family, not to mention my dogs and car and maybe a new motorcycle down the road... we'll have to see what mom says about that.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
A Month of Fun
I'm not even sure anyone is even going to read this, since it's been so long since i've posted anything... I bet i've lost whatever attention i've had. but, for those who are by chance still foolishly keeping up on me, the story still hasn't ended or become less eventful.
The spring break was absolutely amazing, and i really loved being able to see some of my friends from back home down here experiencing my favorite place on the planet. it really was a refreshing week of making new friends, playing with kids, working on projects, and just enjoying the fellowship of over a hundred of my peers for a week. The group was so big that we had to split into two. I got to be with the students from Virginia Tech and William and Mary, about 110 in total. The other group consisted of UVA and JMU, and was about 90 strong. My group stayed in the Casa Bernabe orphanage, and the other in a hotel about an hour away. We got to paint the school in the orphanage, dig a water line and lay the pipes for a small community, and got to spend time getting to know the kids, as well as the townspeople in the communities we worked with. It was a challenging time for everyone, myself included, but everybody had a blast and learned a lot about what real life looks like. when i say real life i don't just mean reality, but true living, or what it means to really become alive. We got to spend an evening with Brad Corrigan, and he shared with us some songs and some words of encouragement and inspiration. he really touched me with his message of becoming alive, and punching through the paper thin sheet of fear that so often holds us back from living. I really agree with what he said, and believe that most people never really live because they are too scared to. it's like an analogy my dad told me a long time ago about a kid who had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast everyday, and when christmas came and there was a wonderful feast of flavorful foods, he was too comfortable with his oatmeal to leave it for the new and unknown dishes. What kind of life is that? Brad's message for us was to leave our comforts behind and follow our hearts. i took his words and put them in another way, stop being safe. doesn't it sound boring to live a "safe" life, never risking anything, but always doing the easy thing because of being too scared of what might happen if you follow your desires?
I believe that God did not make us to live in a box. Maybe that's just me, but i don't think so. I think we were made for so much more than that. just the fact that living in a box sounds so unattractive to us should be a sign that we were created for adventure. we were created with hearts, desires, and dreams, and if we live in a box all those things are useless. I only have a little over two weeks left of this chapter in my life, but i'm excited to see what happens when i turn the page. yes, i'm coming back to the states, back to my comfort zone, and it will be easy to fall back into the same mindset of most of the people in the world, but i've made up my mind not to, and i'm going to trust in God to prevent me from living safe. Brad told us that, even though he was far from a scientist, he thinks that if we try giving a little piece of ourselves to someone else, it might actually feel good. maybe even addictive. imagine if everyone in the world gave something to someone... something that costs something, that has a little sting to it... something that we'd normally be scared to give away... what would happen? I think happiness might happen.
we experienced a little of this on thursday, march 6th, 2008 on a day called the day of light in a place that could easily be mistaken for Hell. i think i've described it quite a few times, but la chureca really can't be portrayed with words, it's just something that has to be seen in order to be experienced. well, on march 6th about 600 people experienced it, over 200 of which did so for the first time. Brad Corrigan, his band Braddigan, and his organization Love Light and Melody, held their second annual day of light concert in the biggest trash dump in Central America. everyone that was participating let a couple of their paper thin brick walls fall down. it's crazy how hard such thin walls crash down. we got dirty, probably the most dirty we've ever been, and we didn't care. love and light filled a pit of hell unlike ever before. dancing and laughter broke out and pierced the dark, empty, lonely place that is home to so many. smiles streaked across the field scaring away any feelings of fear or pain. in their place was warmth and joy as music filled the air and those walls of fear came crashing down. that's how it should be.
So that was a little bit of what i learned with the big spring break trip. needless to say i think i'll be back here quite a few times before the end of things. i underestimated the power of eight months in the hands of such a people and such a God as mine.
A few more adventures took place in the past few weeks, and i'll take this time to share them with you. in Impacto, my relatively new church (as of january) we had a competition among the young adults group. we split into two teams, each of about 15 people, and had a "Talent Show" competition. each team had a week (March 8th to 15th) to come up with a presentation for the night of the 15th. we all went to work thinking of ideas and came up with some pretty crazy stuff. Carlos, Leo, Edgard, and myself decided to do a couple crazy videos. the first was called Yacas, a rip-off of the mtv show Jackass, where we had a competition of sitting in a cafeteria style roller trash can and racing down a poorly paved street. we had pads and helmets, but it was still painful. the other video we made was footage of us trying to raise money for the upcoming church retreat which would cost $65 a person. we took to the streets to beg for money in the traffic lights. Carlos had a pair of old crutches, and he and leo took turns begging with them. when they would receive a donation, they would pick up the crutches and walk back to us waving the coins in the air. then of course they'd give the coins back to the people who gave them. it was kind of a candid camera sort of thing. i washed windshields with a little boy and we got about 30 cents which i gave to him. in the end, we had a pretty fun time making videos and doing the presentation, and we won the competition. we did not however win any money towards the retreat.
on monday the 17th we headed out for the island of Ometepe, for the church retreat, and spent three days there enjoying the beach and the company of one another. ometepe is always a fun place to go, even if it's just in the fact that it's an island formed by two volcanoes, full of wildlife including monkeys and tropical birds.
we got back from the island on wednesday night, and on thursday i decided to go to la chureca and get some footage of the kids there, since up until then i'd only taken pictures. it had been two weeks since i'd been there (day of light) and the kids were excited to see me, although not happy with me for being gone so long. i got some footage of some of my favorite kids, including Victoria, Manuel, Reynaldo, Julieth, Norland, Bayardo, Jordan, Cris, Ruth, Judith, Miurel, Maryielis, Cindy Paola, and Genesis Belen. i also taped a man named Antonio, who works in the dump collecting iron, aluminum, and whatever else he may find useful. i talked with him for a while about the strike that's been going on for about two weeks, and he explained to me that the trash truck drivers who make a good salary were stealing the trash and selling the best of it before dumping it in la chureca. the people who work in the dump decided not to let the trucks enter the dump, and are hoping that something will change. i don't exactly understand much of what's going on with it, but it may very well be the end of the dump. there are plans to get rid of it, or move it, or completely redo it, and this strike may be the end of it. it's kind of a freaky thing, maybe good, maybe bad, but exciting nonetheless. the people there are on the hearts of so many, and it's all in God's hands, so whatever comes to pass will not be too big for Him to handle.
on friday Carlos and i decided to go on a motorcycle adventure, similar to what esmir and i did in january. i'd lent the bike to Arturo, a friend of mine from the Casa Bernabe orphanage who grew up there but now works for their bakery. he borrowed it during the time of the spring break trip since i didn't need it. i'm going to sell it to him in a couple weeks when i go, but anyways, i lent it to him and got it back in not the best shape. i was a little worried about making such a big journey on it, but decided to go anyways. the trip was very long. we didn't exactly know the route, and ended up going a much longer way than necessary, but finally made it to our destination, which just so happens to be the same place i visited my first week here in nicaragua--Popoyo beach. we went there because two of our friends from church, Jissell and Meilen, were there visiting their uncle and cousins for semana santa (holy week). it turned out that their uncle's house was the next house down the street from the surf camp that i visited back in august on my first ridiculous adventure. i had no idea that that was so foreboding. we had a great time and i got to visit JJ and Craig, two awesome guys who love the Lord and love the people of Nicaragua. we went to the beach with them and enjoyed each other's fellowship for the first time in a while. on sunday we went to church, where jj is the pastor, and experienced a great easter service. we said goodbye and headed out for managua at about three o'clock.
Carlos and i were on my bike, and we were traveling with one of the girls' cousins, Michel, who was on his mountain bike. we decided to take a way that none of us knew but were told was faster and more direct. we had no idea what we were getting into. michel led the way, and we were off. the first half hour wasn't bad, as we could travel fairly fast as long as we dodged the potholes. once the road turned into dirt things started getting interesting. it was a mountainous road, and had parts that were extremely rocky and others that were entirely dust which made for horrible traction. Michel was going at a pretty good speed, and we were keeping up fine, but when we hit a bad section of 3 inches of pure dust the bike lost traction and we went down. Michel came back to see what happened, and we made some arrangements to try to have more success. carlos went with him on his bike, and i took the bag of our stuff with me. the crash was nothing, we went down soft and did no damage to ourselves, although i did bend my gear shifter a little bit. we continued the journey, but decided that if anything should happen i should honk my horn. about an hour later, after crossing through shin deep streams and herds of cattle, my exhaust pipe came loose. i honked, and we stopped to see what was the matter. i lost the nut that held in the bolt which held up my exhaust pipe, due to the heavy vibration of the road. we found some ribbon in a small pile of trash on the side of the dirt road, and i tied it back in place since i didn't have the nut to tighten it back down with. we were on our way again, but i was in constant prayer that we would somehow make it home. i didn't even care if we got home late, i just wanted to get home with the bike in as good of condition as possible. well, we finally made it out of the dirt mountain road and into a town. i filled up on gas, and we were off. there was a ton of traffic on the main road, because everyone was on their way back from their week on the southern pacific coast beaches. luckily we were on motorcycles and were able to pass the long lines of parked cars. we finally got on the open road, when i felt something funny with the bike. when i looked down i saw that the bolt was about half way out and i honked and honked until michel and carlos pulled over and i pulled over with them.
let me go back a second to tell you about my getting robbed on sunday the 9th. i went to a concert, and stupidly kept my wallet in my back pocket. my friends wanted to go up close for a better view, and so we all went up into the crowed. someone pick-pocketed me and got off with my driver's licence, virginia tech id, motorcycle circulation and insurance cards, debit card, credit card, and about $15. I had to take about a week figuring all of that out, but in the end everything was alright.
so, we pull over, and a cop pulls over with us. the cops had no reason to pull over, but were really hungry and wanted some money for dinner. i didn't have my license, but what i did have was my passport, copy of my insurance, and a document from the police explaining how i was robbed and that the motorcycle was my own, and was insured, and that i was licensed to drive it. the cops had told me that that would work until i could get my license back. well, the cop that pulled us over would not listen to me, and took the document along with michel's license, circulation, and insurance. they said that we had to follow them to the station to clear everything up. we knew that they just wanted money, so we went into the town and pulled over to discuss what we were to do. i still had my passport, and could go to the police in managua to get another copy of the document no problem. michel had to go to the police to get his stuff back, but did nothing wrong, so would have no problem doing so. thus, carlos and i went to the center park of the town to wait for him, and he went to the police alone. he told them that we had a problem with the motorcycle and went to the mechanics. he said that he had met us at the beach and was just driving home with us. they gave him his stuff back, but made a call out to the officers in the town to look for two young men on a small red bike driving around with no papers. so, michel came back to us in the center park. while he was gone, however, i had the bike parked on the side of the road behind a truck. the truck reversed out of its parking spot without looking behind and crashed into the bike. the bike fell over and busted it's left mirror, along with the kick-stand and the foot pedal. the man drove off, thinking no damage was done, but the kick-stand no longer functioned and it was now very difficult for me to change gears. michel gets back and tells us that the cops are looking for us, so i take off my shirt and put on a tank-top. carlos gets back on the bike with michel since they were looking for two guys on a smaller bike, and i trade helmets with michel. so we take off, me on the now very shaky bike and carlos and michel leading the way. it all ended up happily, but i now have to put who knows how much money into repairing the bike. my prayer was answered, however, and we got back to managua only about four hours delayed with the bike in more or less one piece. my adventures to Popoyo never cease to amaze.
with now just two and a half weeks left in Nicaragua, i'm trying to spend as much time as possible with the people most important to me. it might be hard without the motorcycle for a while as i'm taking it to the shop, but hopefully i can get the most out of my last 17 days here. i'll see you guys back at home april 10th.
The spring break was absolutely amazing, and i really loved being able to see some of my friends from back home down here experiencing my favorite place on the planet. it really was a refreshing week of making new friends, playing with kids, working on projects, and just enjoying the fellowship of over a hundred of my peers for a week. The group was so big that we had to split into two. I got to be with the students from Virginia Tech and William and Mary, about 110 in total. The other group consisted of UVA and JMU, and was about 90 strong. My group stayed in the Casa Bernabe orphanage, and the other in a hotel about an hour away. We got to paint the school in the orphanage, dig a water line and lay the pipes for a small community, and got to spend time getting to know the kids, as well as the townspeople in the communities we worked with. It was a challenging time for everyone, myself included, but everybody had a blast and learned a lot about what real life looks like. when i say real life i don't just mean reality, but true living, or what it means to really become alive. We got to spend an evening with Brad Corrigan, and he shared with us some songs and some words of encouragement and inspiration. he really touched me with his message of becoming alive, and punching through the paper thin sheet of fear that so often holds us back from living. I really agree with what he said, and believe that most people never really live because they are too scared to. it's like an analogy my dad told me a long time ago about a kid who had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast everyday, and when christmas came and there was a wonderful feast of flavorful foods, he was too comfortable with his oatmeal to leave it for the new and unknown dishes. What kind of life is that? Brad's message for us was to leave our comforts behind and follow our hearts. i took his words and put them in another way, stop being safe. doesn't it sound boring to live a "safe" life, never risking anything, but always doing the easy thing because of being too scared of what might happen if you follow your desires?
I believe that God did not make us to live in a box. Maybe that's just me, but i don't think so. I think we were made for so much more than that. just the fact that living in a box sounds so unattractive to us should be a sign that we were created for adventure. we were created with hearts, desires, and dreams, and if we live in a box all those things are useless. I only have a little over two weeks left of this chapter in my life, but i'm excited to see what happens when i turn the page. yes, i'm coming back to the states, back to my comfort zone, and it will be easy to fall back into the same mindset of most of the people in the world, but i've made up my mind not to, and i'm going to trust in God to prevent me from living safe. Brad told us that, even though he was far from a scientist, he thinks that if we try giving a little piece of ourselves to someone else, it might actually feel good. maybe even addictive. imagine if everyone in the world gave something to someone... something that costs something, that has a little sting to it... something that we'd normally be scared to give away... what would happen? I think happiness might happen.
we experienced a little of this on thursday, march 6th, 2008 on a day called the day of light in a place that could easily be mistaken for Hell. i think i've described it quite a few times, but la chureca really can't be portrayed with words, it's just something that has to be seen in order to be experienced. well, on march 6th about 600 people experienced it, over 200 of which did so for the first time. Brad Corrigan, his band Braddigan, and his organization Love Light and Melody, held their second annual day of light concert in the biggest trash dump in Central America. everyone that was participating let a couple of their paper thin brick walls fall down. it's crazy how hard such thin walls crash down. we got dirty, probably the most dirty we've ever been, and we didn't care. love and light filled a pit of hell unlike ever before. dancing and laughter broke out and pierced the dark, empty, lonely place that is home to so many. smiles streaked across the field scaring away any feelings of fear or pain. in their place was warmth and joy as music filled the air and those walls of fear came crashing down. that's how it should be.
So that was a little bit of what i learned with the big spring break trip. needless to say i think i'll be back here quite a few times before the end of things. i underestimated the power of eight months in the hands of such a people and such a God as mine.
A few more adventures took place in the past few weeks, and i'll take this time to share them with you. in Impacto, my relatively new church (as of january) we had a competition among the young adults group. we split into two teams, each of about 15 people, and had a "Talent Show" competition. each team had a week (March 8th to 15th) to come up with a presentation for the night of the 15th. we all went to work thinking of ideas and came up with some pretty crazy stuff. Carlos, Leo, Edgard, and myself decided to do a couple crazy videos. the first was called Yacas, a rip-off of the mtv show Jackass, where we had a competition of sitting in a cafeteria style roller trash can and racing down a poorly paved street. we had pads and helmets, but it was still painful. the other video we made was footage of us trying to raise money for the upcoming church retreat which would cost $65 a person. we took to the streets to beg for money in the traffic lights. Carlos had a pair of old crutches, and he and leo took turns begging with them. when they would receive a donation, they would pick up the crutches and walk back to us waving the coins in the air. then of course they'd give the coins back to the people who gave them. it was kind of a candid camera sort of thing. i washed windshields with a little boy and we got about 30 cents which i gave to him. in the end, we had a pretty fun time making videos and doing the presentation, and we won the competition. we did not however win any money towards the retreat.
on monday the 17th we headed out for the island of Ometepe, for the church retreat, and spent three days there enjoying the beach and the company of one another. ometepe is always a fun place to go, even if it's just in the fact that it's an island formed by two volcanoes, full of wildlife including monkeys and tropical birds.
we got back from the island on wednesday night, and on thursday i decided to go to la chureca and get some footage of the kids there, since up until then i'd only taken pictures. it had been two weeks since i'd been there (day of light) and the kids were excited to see me, although not happy with me for being gone so long. i got some footage of some of my favorite kids, including Victoria, Manuel, Reynaldo, Julieth, Norland, Bayardo, Jordan, Cris, Ruth, Judith, Miurel, Maryielis, Cindy Paola, and Genesis Belen. i also taped a man named Antonio, who works in the dump collecting iron, aluminum, and whatever else he may find useful. i talked with him for a while about the strike that's been going on for about two weeks, and he explained to me that the trash truck drivers who make a good salary were stealing the trash and selling the best of it before dumping it in la chureca. the people who work in the dump decided not to let the trucks enter the dump, and are hoping that something will change. i don't exactly understand much of what's going on with it, but it may very well be the end of the dump. there are plans to get rid of it, or move it, or completely redo it, and this strike may be the end of it. it's kind of a freaky thing, maybe good, maybe bad, but exciting nonetheless. the people there are on the hearts of so many, and it's all in God's hands, so whatever comes to pass will not be too big for Him to handle.
on friday Carlos and i decided to go on a motorcycle adventure, similar to what esmir and i did in january. i'd lent the bike to Arturo, a friend of mine from the Casa Bernabe orphanage who grew up there but now works for their bakery. he borrowed it during the time of the spring break trip since i didn't need it. i'm going to sell it to him in a couple weeks when i go, but anyways, i lent it to him and got it back in not the best shape. i was a little worried about making such a big journey on it, but decided to go anyways. the trip was very long. we didn't exactly know the route, and ended up going a much longer way than necessary, but finally made it to our destination, which just so happens to be the same place i visited my first week here in nicaragua--Popoyo beach. we went there because two of our friends from church, Jissell and Meilen, were there visiting their uncle and cousins for semana santa (holy week). it turned out that their uncle's house was the next house down the street from the surf camp that i visited back in august on my first ridiculous adventure. i had no idea that that was so foreboding. we had a great time and i got to visit JJ and Craig, two awesome guys who love the Lord and love the people of Nicaragua. we went to the beach with them and enjoyed each other's fellowship for the first time in a while. on sunday we went to church, where jj is the pastor, and experienced a great easter service. we said goodbye and headed out for managua at about three o'clock.
Carlos and i were on my bike, and we were traveling with one of the girls' cousins, Michel, who was on his mountain bike. we decided to take a way that none of us knew but were told was faster and more direct. we had no idea what we were getting into. michel led the way, and we were off. the first half hour wasn't bad, as we could travel fairly fast as long as we dodged the potholes. once the road turned into dirt things started getting interesting. it was a mountainous road, and had parts that were extremely rocky and others that were entirely dust which made for horrible traction. Michel was going at a pretty good speed, and we were keeping up fine, but when we hit a bad section of 3 inches of pure dust the bike lost traction and we went down. Michel came back to see what happened, and we made some arrangements to try to have more success. carlos went with him on his bike, and i took the bag of our stuff with me. the crash was nothing, we went down soft and did no damage to ourselves, although i did bend my gear shifter a little bit. we continued the journey, but decided that if anything should happen i should honk my horn. about an hour later, after crossing through shin deep streams and herds of cattle, my exhaust pipe came loose. i honked, and we stopped to see what was the matter. i lost the nut that held in the bolt which held up my exhaust pipe, due to the heavy vibration of the road. we found some ribbon in a small pile of trash on the side of the dirt road, and i tied it back in place since i didn't have the nut to tighten it back down with. we were on our way again, but i was in constant prayer that we would somehow make it home. i didn't even care if we got home late, i just wanted to get home with the bike in as good of condition as possible. well, we finally made it out of the dirt mountain road and into a town. i filled up on gas, and we were off. there was a ton of traffic on the main road, because everyone was on their way back from their week on the southern pacific coast beaches. luckily we were on motorcycles and were able to pass the long lines of parked cars. we finally got on the open road, when i felt something funny with the bike. when i looked down i saw that the bolt was about half way out and i honked and honked until michel and carlos pulled over and i pulled over with them.
let me go back a second to tell you about my getting robbed on sunday the 9th. i went to a concert, and stupidly kept my wallet in my back pocket. my friends wanted to go up close for a better view, and so we all went up into the crowed. someone pick-pocketed me and got off with my driver's licence, virginia tech id, motorcycle circulation and insurance cards, debit card, credit card, and about $15. I had to take about a week figuring all of that out, but in the end everything was alright.
so, we pull over, and a cop pulls over with us. the cops had no reason to pull over, but were really hungry and wanted some money for dinner. i didn't have my license, but what i did have was my passport, copy of my insurance, and a document from the police explaining how i was robbed and that the motorcycle was my own, and was insured, and that i was licensed to drive it. the cops had told me that that would work until i could get my license back. well, the cop that pulled us over would not listen to me, and took the document along with michel's license, circulation, and insurance. they said that we had to follow them to the station to clear everything up. we knew that they just wanted money, so we went into the town and pulled over to discuss what we were to do. i still had my passport, and could go to the police in managua to get another copy of the document no problem. michel had to go to the police to get his stuff back, but did nothing wrong, so would have no problem doing so. thus, carlos and i went to the center park of the town to wait for him, and he went to the police alone. he told them that we had a problem with the motorcycle and went to the mechanics. he said that he had met us at the beach and was just driving home with us. they gave him his stuff back, but made a call out to the officers in the town to look for two young men on a small red bike driving around with no papers. so, michel came back to us in the center park. while he was gone, however, i had the bike parked on the side of the road behind a truck. the truck reversed out of its parking spot without looking behind and crashed into the bike. the bike fell over and busted it's left mirror, along with the kick-stand and the foot pedal. the man drove off, thinking no damage was done, but the kick-stand no longer functioned and it was now very difficult for me to change gears. michel gets back and tells us that the cops are looking for us, so i take off my shirt and put on a tank-top. carlos gets back on the bike with michel since they were looking for two guys on a smaller bike, and i trade helmets with michel. so we take off, me on the now very shaky bike and carlos and michel leading the way. it all ended up happily, but i now have to put who knows how much money into repairing the bike. my prayer was answered, however, and we got back to managua only about four hours delayed with the bike in more or less one piece. my adventures to Popoyo never cease to amaze.
with now just two and a half weeks left in Nicaragua, i'm trying to spend as much time as possible with the people most important to me. it might be hard without the motorcycle for a while as i'm taking it to the shop, but hopefully i can get the most out of my last 17 days here. i'll see you guys back at home april 10th.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Back in Action
Leo and I got back on Wednesday, the 20th, from Costa Rica, and thoroughly enjoyed our trip. We left initially thinking of coming back Monday, but we decided to make it more of an experience and stay there 5 nights instead of 3. We had plans to try to get to some of Costa Rica's beaches, but we had such a good time with the family that we stayed with that we decided to just stay around the San Jose area. We stayed the first four nights in Cachi, a small village of around 5,000 people. Leo and his family attended another church in Managua until two years ago, and used to do projects with the church in Cachi. Through that, Leo knows a lot of people in Cachi, and we were able to stay with a really great couple, Ronald and Melania, and their sons Mituyoshi and Jatsai. There's a story behind why their sons have Japanese names, but I wasn't able to hear it. Ronald and Melania were amazing hosts, and we had great food for breakfast and dinner each day. We ate lunches in other places as we got to know a little of the country. I had my first hot showers since I've been here, and they were amazing.
The weather in Costa Rica was very different than what I'd expected. It was a bit more cloudy, and much fresher. I slept for the first time with a blanket, and it was bliss. There's nothing better than a hot shower and a cold set of covers to crawl into after a long day of walking, and I got to do that a few times there. We were fortunate enough to see the towns of Osori, Cartago, and Paraiso, as well as Cachi, during the days we were there. We also spent two days in the capital, San Jose, before leaving for home. Even though I was only there a few days, I was made to feel very welcome, and think I'll be going back sometime.
On Saturday we had a men's retreat with Impacto, and we went to a volcano to get away for the day and have some guy time. We grilled some sausages and had some really good talks about being real men of character. I absolutely love the group of guys we have in the church. Edwin, in particular, is a great leader and had some really good words for us. We had planned on going to a place that had a basketball court, pool, soccer field, and the like, but it was closed, and instead we spent the day talking and just growing as a group. Saturday night we celebrated a couple birthdays of people in the youth group, and went out to eat and have some fun. The birthday cake was actually good, which is not very common in Nicaragua. Needless to say I ate my share.
Yesterday I visited Verbo, my old church, for the first time in a while, and afterwards went to Impacto. There are a lot of things I like about Verbo, but Impacto really is much more alive and has much more visible growth within its members. One of my friends, Carlos, is quite the character, and wanted to make a fashion show video as a joke. He cut up and colored on some old t-shirts for a few of us to model, but it fell through when no one showed up. I stayed with him anyway and we designed a couple more shirts, but more serious. Another guy, Eric, saw what we were working on, and our conversation led to the idea of actually designing and selling some t-shirts as a possible ministry/fundraiser for the church. It's a developing project, but it might be kind of cool.
The big spring break group is coming in on Friday and I'm pretty stoked for that. 200 kids are coming down from Virginia Tech, UVA, JMU, and William and Mary. 75 are from Tech alone, 30 of which are friends of mine, so I can't wait to see some familiar faces. Esmir and I will be translating for the group from Friday to next Saturday, so this might be the last update for a while, but I think you guys are getting used to that by now... hopefully afterwards I'll be better at giving more frequent updates.
The weather in Costa Rica was very different than what I'd expected. It was a bit more cloudy, and much fresher. I slept for the first time with a blanket, and it was bliss. There's nothing better than a hot shower and a cold set of covers to crawl into after a long day of walking, and I got to do that a few times there. We were fortunate enough to see the towns of Osori, Cartago, and Paraiso, as well as Cachi, during the days we were there. We also spent two days in the capital, San Jose, before leaving for home. Even though I was only there a few days, I was made to feel very welcome, and think I'll be going back sometime.
On Saturday we had a men's retreat with Impacto, and we went to a volcano to get away for the day and have some guy time. We grilled some sausages and had some really good talks about being real men of character. I absolutely love the group of guys we have in the church. Edwin, in particular, is a great leader and had some really good words for us. We had planned on going to a place that had a basketball court, pool, soccer field, and the like, but it was closed, and instead we spent the day talking and just growing as a group. Saturday night we celebrated a couple birthdays of people in the youth group, and went out to eat and have some fun. The birthday cake was actually good, which is not very common in Nicaragua. Needless to say I ate my share.
Yesterday I visited Verbo, my old church, for the first time in a while, and afterwards went to Impacto. There are a lot of things I like about Verbo, but Impacto really is much more alive and has much more visible growth within its members. One of my friends, Carlos, is quite the character, and wanted to make a fashion show video as a joke. He cut up and colored on some old t-shirts for a few of us to model, but it fell through when no one showed up. I stayed with him anyway and we designed a couple more shirts, but more serious. Another guy, Eric, saw what we were working on, and our conversation led to the idea of actually designing and selling some t-shirts as a possible ministry/fundraiser for the church. It's a developing project, but it might be kind of cool.
The big spring break group is coming in on Friday and I'm pretty stoked for that. 200 kids are coming down from Virginia Tech, UVA, JMU, and William and Mary. 75 are from Tech alone, 30 of which are friends of mine, so I can't wait to see some familiar faces. Esmir and I will be translating for the group from Friday to next Saturday, so this might be the last update for a while, but I think you guys are getting used to that by now... hopefully afterwards I'll be better at giving more frequent updates.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Costa Rica Tomorrow!
Hey everyone,
I'm running a little short on time but i wanted to give a quick update on life down here. I've been spending a lot of time with Impacto, the new church I'm attending, and yesterday I confirmed my stepping on as an intern. I'll be concentrating in three main areas. First, I'll be working with Arnold, doing college evangelism in the UAM, which I'm really excited about. We'll be spending a few hours a day a few days a week in the college talking with the students and trying to get them excited about life. We'll be playing soccer with them as well, and hopefully really be able to build some friendships. My second role will be helping Edwin, another leader, with the logistics of the youth group (the youth group includes people from 16 to 29). I'll be helping with organizing events, as well as trying to build up the members and encourage them to grow. Thirdly, I will be taking seminary classes with the other leaders, and hopefully will really learn a lot through that. All of this will be in Spanish, which is really exciting to me because I should learn a lot in a short amount of time. We'll be doing fairly deep bible study, and will be conversing and writing about what we learn. Pretty exciting.
Sorry for the overuse of the word exciting, but also exciting is being part of the UCC football team. Practice was like a shot out of the movie The Longest Yard. The field was half dirt and half meter-high weeds and burrs. The half with dirt had a bunch of rocks and broken glass, and the part with tall plants also had cow droppings throughout. We played on the dirt half, which was more conducive to running but maybe less conducive to getting tackled. Only about five of the 22 players had padded pants to practice in. Everyone had shoulder pads and a helmet, but the majority, myself included, had no other protection. Let's just say it was a painful experience. On the bright side it looks like I could have a starting position as receiver. I got thrown to a lot and made some good catches, but also got smashed and cut up pretty bad. They say we'll practice on a better field next time. The season starts the end of the month, but in order to play I may have to purchase my own equipment. We'll see.
Tomorrow I'm going with my friend Leo from Impacto to Costa Rica. We'll be staying for free with some friends of his, and should get to see a good taste of the country before coming back Monday. I'm excited about that too! Tell you about it when I get back.
I'm running a little short on time but i wanted to give a quick update on life down here. I've been spending a lot of time with Impacto, the new church I'm attending, and yesterday I confirmed my stepping on as an intern. I'll be concentrating in three main areas. First, I'll be working with Arnold, doing college evangelism in the UAM, which I'm really excited about. We'll be spending a few hours a day a few days a week in the college talking with the students and trying to get them excited about life. We'll be playing soccer with them as well, and hopefully really be able to build some friendships. My second role will be helping Edwin, another leader, with the logistics of the youth group (the youth group includes people from 16 to 29). I'll be helping with organizing events, as well as trying to build up the members and encourage them to grow. Thirdly, I will be taking seminary classes with the other leaders, and hopefully will really learn a lot through that. All of this will be in Spanish, which is really exciting to me because I should learn a lot in a short amount of time. We'll be doing fairly deep bible study, and will be conversing and writing about what we learn. Pretty exciting.
Sorry for the overuse of the word exciting, but also exciting is being part of the UCC football team. Practice was like a shot out of the movie The Longest Yard. The field was half dirt and half meter-high weeds and burrs. The half with dirt had a bunch of rocks and broken glass, and the part with tall plants also had cow droppings throughout. We played on the dirt half, which was more conducive to running but maybe less conducive to getting tackled. Only about five of the 22 players had padded pants to practice in. Everyone had shoulder pads and a helmet, but the majority, myself included, had no other protection. Let's just say it was a painful experience. On the bright side it looks like I could have a starting position as receiver. I got thrown to a lot and made some good catches, but also got smashed and cut up pretty bad. They say we'll practice on a better field next time. The season starts the end of the month, but in order to play I may have to purchase my own equipment. We'll see.
Tomorrow I'm going with my friend Leo from Impacto to Costa Rica. We'll be staying for free with some friends of his, and should get to see a good taste of the country before coming back Monday. I'm excited about that too! Tell you about it when I get back.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Beach Trip
On Thursday (yesterday) morning, bright and early, Esmir and I packed up a few things, hopped on the motorcycle, and took off on our first adventure together. It was quite a tiring trip... 150 kilometers or so, averaging 60 km/hr. Some of the roads there were in pretty bad shape, but for the most part it was smooth cruisin. The trip from Managua to San Juan del Sur gets quite uncomfortable on a motorcycle, so we stopped after two hours in Rivas to get some breakfast and take a break from driving. They didn't have many good looking options at the comedor, so we played it safe and just had gallo pinto (i had a double portion). Gallo pinto is so cheap and filling, not to mention flavorful, that when I finished I was in quite favorable spirits to continue the journey. So was Esmir, so the next, bumpy, and slow 25 kilometers went by quickly.
We checked into a hostel in San Juan del Sur and left most of our things in the room. We took a towel, the cameras, and our swimming suits and headed of to explore the Nicaraguan Pacific Coast. The beach roads were something else, we had to cross some small rivers, and go up and down some serious slopes, but the motorcycle, nicknamed "la poderosa," made it just fine (surprisingly). We left the motorcycle in a beach called Maderas, famous for surfing, but still practically barren compared to the beaches back home. There were probably about 30 people surfing and a few more in the surf bar. We decided to just walk (hike) between the three connected beaches of Maderas and Majagual. The two beaches of Majagual were absolutely gorgeous, and great for swimming/bodysurfing. Although the beach was practically empty, we enjoyed chatting with a couple different tourists which were in the bar. There was a person there from Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, New York, Israel, and maybe other countries, all there just to enjoy the waves.
We had a good time swimming and checking out the wildlife in some of the rocky ridges. We headed back to the city before dark to rest a little, and then spent a couple hours in a bar on the beach. I had a horrible night's sleep on a paper thin mattress, but it was worth it.
The next day we went to Playa Coco, which was a bit of a journey but it was probably my favorite beach. It was a much larger spread of sand than the other beaches, and had a cool collection of rocks to hike around. We collected a bunch of shells that had been washed ashore in a big nook between some rock formations. We're going to attempt to make some necklaces. The return trip wasn't quite as exhausting as we took a shortcut and as the construction crews had actually worked on some of the roads.
After everything, it was a great trip. Tomorrow is my first day of American Football practice by the way, so wish me luck! I'm excited about this recent opportunity!
We checked into a hostel in San Juan del Sur and left most of our things in the room. We took a towel, the cameras, and our swimming suits and headed of to explore the Nicaraguan Pacific Coast. The beach roads were something else, we had to cross some small rivers, and go up and down some serious slopes, but the motorcycle, nicknamed "la poderosa," made it just fine (surprisingly). We left the motorcycle in a beach called Maderas, famous for surfing, but still practically barren compared to the beaches back home. There were probably about 30 people surfing and a few more in the surf bar. We decided to just walk (hike) between the three connected beaches of Maderas and Majagual. The two beaches of Majagual were absolutely gorgeous, and great for swimming/bodysurfing. Although the beach was practically empty, we enjoyed chatting with a couple different tourists which were in the bar. There was a person there from Canada, France, Belgium, Germany, New York, Israel, and maybe other countries, all there just to enjoy the waves.
We had a good time swimming and checking out the wildlife in some of the rocky ridges. We headed back to the city before dark to rest a little, and then spent a couple hours in a bar on the beach. I had a horrible night's sleep on a paper thin mattress, but it was worth it.
The next day we went to Playa Coco, which was a bit of a journey but it was probably my favorite beach. It was a much larger spread of sand than the other beaches, and had a cool collection of rocks to hike around. We collected a bunch of shells that had been washed ashore in a big nook between some rock formations. We're going to attempt to make some necklaces. The return trip wasn't quite as exhausting as we took a shortcut and as the construction crews had actually worked on some of the roads.
After everything, it was a great trip. Tomorrow is my first day of American Football practice by the way, so wish me luck! I'm excited about this recent opportunity!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Chez is here!
I forgot to mention something very important. Yesterday my good friend Chez, who first invited me to Nicaragua back in March of 2006, arrived in Managua! I had no idea what time she'd arrive, and had thought that she'd be in another part of town, but I ran into her yesterday close to my house as i was on my way home! I saw a group of gringoes, and almost paid no attention, but then I looked again and there she was! It turns out she's in a hotel for a couple days just a few blocks from my house! She's busy with a group orientation, but it was good to see her and welcome her. Hopefully I'll be able to hang out with her soon.
This Friday I was on the cover of the paper's "Aqui Entre Nos" section, which is an insert in Friday's issue. My friend Tammy, a journalist for La Prensa, was doing an article on my work in La Chureca, but I had no idea it was going to be a feature story! I was in the coffee shop with Esmir, my roommate, and people started staring at me. I looked at the paper and saw my picture on the cover of the insert and Esmir and I almost laughed out loud. It was a little awkward but a fun story. The article wasn't that great but i got a lot of flack from the church youth group. "Teacher" Brad in his "renegade motorcycle." It made for a few laughs.
I've been passing by my buddies in the traffic light. They're a fun group of kids, but quite overdramatic. They should be starting school very soon with the program that my friend Dylan set up. He's found a way to support nine children, enabling them to purchase uniforms, backpacks, notebooks, and everything that they need to go to school. I may check in on the program to help from time to time and see how they're doing.
A group of people from La Prensa, the newspaper, called me on Friday to see if they could do a lunch on Sunday (today) in La Chureca. I told them I could help them do it, but didn't know what I was getting into. I thought for sure it wasn't going to work out because I wasn't able to get permission to use a building or anything as far as organization. I tried calling the people back, but didn't get an answer. This afternoon, just before the lunch was scheduled, I simply prayed that it would go extremely better than expected--and it did! There was food for only about 50 or 60 children, which was my first concern, because there are about 350 children there. I thought for sure we'd be flooded with crowds, but it was very much the opposite. I escorted the group in, which consisted of about 8 people (including the woman who set it up, her mother, and daughter), and we went straight to the school. The school was locked up, but there was a nice area of shade where we parked and already had about 20 kids with us. Slowly but surely about 40 kids came, and after a while enough came to finish up all the food. There were a few stragglers that showed up too late, but it was not 300 going without like I had thought might happen. The group was very friendly and was much more serious about it than i had thought. I had pictured that they wanted to do a lunch, take pictures, and tell everyone about what a good thing they did. It turns out that they really just wanted to share with the people, on a personal, low-key level, and they did a great job. The woman's daughter, of about 8 years, did a great job of playing with the kids of the dump, and everybody interacted well with one another. I spent a little time with a new friend of mine named Norland, who is always high on glue, but has a good spirit. I think that he wants to leave the glue addiction, but it's really hard for him. Hopefully I'll get some more time with him.
Last night I went to Granada to celebrate with the church youth group. Here the youth groups consist of kids from 16 to 25, and are pretty crazy. We were celebrating January's birthdays, which were five, and we went and had dinner in the central park of Granada. It was a blast, and afterwards we took a tour on a "tractor-train" booming to reggaeton and taking lots of pictures. We had a lot of fun, and i'm fitting in great with the group. They kept teasing me about the article, and wanted to take pictures with "the important person," and "the renegade." I met a new guy in the group named Carlos who played American Football with his university. He's going to talk to the team and see if I can start practicing and playing with them. That's something i'm getting excited about too. He says the seasons are short since there are only 5 teams in the country, but that it's a lot of fun and that his team's generally in the top three. The best team here is apparently the best in Central America, so we'll see if i'm even able to make the team...
Till next time,
brad
P.S. you can visit my facebook page to look at photos. on the blog it's difficult to upload, so i have everything on facebook. also, you can comment on the blog posts or write me to say hello. love to hear from anybody. I've already met a number of people through the blog, so keep reading and responding!
I've been passing by my buddies in the traffic light. They're a fun group of kids, but quite overdramatic. They should be starting school very soon with the program that my friend Dylan set up. He's found a way to support nine children, enabling them to purchase uniforms, backpacks, notebooks, and everything that they need to go to school. I may check in on the program to help from time to time and see how they're doing.
A group of people from La Prensa, the newspaper, called me on Friday to see if they could do a lunch on Sunday (today) in La Chureca. I told them I could help them do it, but didn't know what I was getting into. I thought for sure it wasn't going to work out because I wasn't able to get permission to use a building or anything as far as organization. I tried calling the people back, but didn't get an answer. This afternoon, just before the lunch was scheduled, I simply prayed that it would go extremely better than expected--and it did! There was food for only about 50 or 60 children, which was my first concern, because there are about 350 children there. I thought for sure we'd be flooded with crowds, but it was very much the opposite. I escorted the group in, which consisted of about 8 people (including the woman who set it up, her mother, and daughter), and we went straight to the school. The school was locked up, but there was a nice area of shade where we parked and already had about 20 kids with us. Slowly but surely about 40 kids came, and after a while enough came to finish up all the food. There were a few stragglers that showed up too late, but it was not 300 going without like I had thought might happen. The group was very friendly and was much more serious about it than i had thought. I had pictured that they wanted to do a lunch, take pictures, and tell everyone about what a good thing they did. It turns out that they really just wanted to share with the people, on a personal, low-key level, and they did a great job. The woman's daughter, of about 8 years, did a great job of playing with the kids of the dump, and everybody interacted well with one another. I spent a little time with a new friend of mine named Norland, who is always high on glue, but has a good spirit. I think that he wants to leave the glue addiction, but it's really hard for him. Hopefully I'll get some more time with him.
Last night I went to Granada to celebrate with the church youth group. Here the youth groups consist of kids from 16 to 25, and are pretty crazy. We were celebrating January's birthdays, which were five, and we went and had dinner in the central park of Granada. It was a blast, and afterwards we took a tour on a "tractor-train" booming to reggaeton and taking lots of pictures. We had a lot of fun, and i'm fitting in great with the group. They kept teasing me about the article, and wanted to take pictures with "the important person," and "the renegade." I met a new guy in the group named Carlos who played American Football with his university. He's going to talk to the team and see if I can start practicing and playing with them. That's something i'm getting excited about too. He says the seasons are short since there are only 5 teams in the country, but that it's a lot of fun and that his team's generally in the top three. The best team here is apparently the best in Central America, so we'll see if i'm even able to make the team...
Till next time,
brad
P.S. you can visit my facebook page to look at photos. on the blog it's difficult to upload, so i have everything on facebook. also, you can comment on the blog posts or write me to say hello. love to hear from anybody. I've already met a number of people through the blog, so keep reading and responding!
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